


Favorite Record

by thesaltybitch



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Falling In Love, Fluff, Greenhouses, Happy Ending, Light Angst, M/M, Rich Boys, Romance, Self-Indulgent, fashion fever dream, seriously so many clothes, thor is great with plants
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-09-05 20:08:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20279086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesaltybitch/pseuds/thesaltybitch
Summary: After being accepted to art school, Loki moves into the city with his best friend in the whole world, Bucky Barnes.Thor Odinson is the city's richest of rich boys, looking for meaning in life. Or really just anything that isn't one of his father's extravagant fundraising events.When Loki ends up in the back seat of Thor's Audi R8 after a party, what else is he to do but let him spend the night?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [crinklefries](https://archiveofourown.org/users/crinklefries/gifts).
**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For [Snuzz](https://twitter.com/spacerenegades). 
> 
> Thanks for the endless conversations, the tv/movie nights, and the mutual screaming. Happiest of birthdays and all the love! LOVE YOU! 
> 
> A big shout out to [Calendulae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/calendulae) for beta-ing this and catching all the things I couldn't see while also being endlessly positive. THANK YOU.

_you were the song stuck in my head_  
_every song i've ever loved_  
_played again and again and again_  
_and you can get what you want but it's never enough_  
_[favorite record, fall out boy]_

~*~

“So, what do you think of it?”

Loki leaned back over the couch to look at his new roommate. 

He had spent all day moving into Bucky’s upscale, midtown apartment and while it hadn’t taken them long (he didn’t own a lot), it was still a good half-day’s worth of work, especially when Bucky had a very particular sense of aesthetic for their living space. 

They had finished by moving the couch back into place and Loki christened it by flopping onto it exhaustedly. Rebellious strands of hair stuck to his face and the back of his neck and the light perspiration that clung there. He knew _he_ looked like a dusty, sweaty, unkempt garbage fire, but if he didn’t know better he would have thought Bucky had just gotten home from a refreshing spa day. Bucky was one of those absolute jerks who looked beautiful no matter what; just far enough along into his twenties to start packing muscle onto his lanky frame and he could finally start growing a beard that didn’t resemble crop circles. 

If only Loki were so lucky. No matter how hard he worked he just kind of stayed the same size all over, with a face that could still comfortably convince the theater employees he was twelve. Bucky said it was because his mom gave him the nutritional allowance of a sickly baby deer, but Loki was pretty sure his metabolism would have burnt through anything he packed away no matter how hard his mom worked to control it. At least he’d never had aspirations for a beard. If the pictures of his father were anything to go by, that was never going to happen. 

He could feel Bucky’s eyes on him expectantly, so he let his gaze slide over the room for the thousandth time that day. Not that he minded, the place was everything he’d ever wanted in a first apartment. He had a standing desk in the corner with a highly inconvenient, but oh-so-fluffy pastel pink rug beneath it. It only worked because his mother had _insisted_ he take her vintage, mahogany vanity stool with him instead of purchasing one of those garish office chairs (her words, not his). 

“I love it,” he said in answer to Bucky’s question, glancing at him with a smile. “It’s all so pretty and I was able to buy myself a plant _without_ my mom hanging over my shoulder for the first time in my life.” He stretched luxuriously as if to test the couch. “It feels like home already.”

Bucky threw him a brilliant smile, pleased. He had been Loki’s saving grace from a life locked away in his parent’s mansion by offering his spare bedroom. Loki didn’t think his friend’s act of piousness was enough to convince his parents, but they _had_ known the Barneses since Loki had gone to preschool, so they eventually agreed. 

Said “pious” friend was currently was puttering around the kitchen making himself busy with coffee for an afternoon pick-me-up. He had his chestnut hair pulled back and out of his face in a sloppy ponytail. He happened to be Loki’s only friend other than Hela and well, Hela was a cat—and his parent’s cat for that matter—so she didn’t even count. Not technically, anyway.

“So,” Bucky began tentatively, pressing a much-needed mug of coffee into his hand and settling across from him on the couch. “What do you think about going out tonight?”

“I’d love to,” Loki responded, almost immediately and ugh, he sounded so eager. He reigned it in a bit. “Did you have something in mind?”

There was a devious glimmer in Bucky’s eye. “As a matter of fact, I managed to score two invites to the most prestigious event in the city.”

“Don’t tell me. The Odinson fundraiser?” Loki felt an excited tingle flutter through his ribs. 

The Odinson fundraiser was an annual party thrown by _Odinson & Co._ and their rich friends as a thank you to all their clients. Really it was just a way to show off how much wealth they had, but Loki wasn’t about to complain about that.

“Of course it’s the fundraiser.” Bucky said, looking smug. “I managed to round up exactly two invites and I think this is just the kind of thing you need as a newly emancipated minor! What do you say?”

“I’m not a minor,” Loki pointed out, squinting at him. “How did you score invites?”

Bucky waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about that, are you in?”

“I mean,” Loki chewed his lip thoughtfully. “Classes don’t start for another couple weeks…”

“You really don’t have an excuse, babe,” Bucky said patiently over the rim of his mug. “And I promised your mom I would keep you safe in the big city, remember? You have nothing to worry about.”

“It does sound like fun,” Loki felt a grin spread across his face despite himself, then he had a thought. “Oh my god, Bucky, tonight? What am I going to wear? I don’t have clothes for that!”

“I know you don’t,” Bucky leaned forward and planted a fond kiss on his forehead. “That’s why I asked Natasha to swing by. She’ll have something for you.”

“Natasha?” Loki said dubiously. “Look, I know I’m skinny, but—”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “She’s a klepto, remember? She has a whole wardrobe of men’s clothing just because she wanted to prove she could.”

“You’ve gotta stop giving her terrible ideas,” Loki shook his head in amusement. “One day she’s gonna get caught.”

“Who said it was me?” Bucky said, trying and failing to look innocent. 

Loki gave him an arch look. He might be young and sheltered, but he wasn’t stupid. Who else would have given Natasha the idea to steal men’s clothing but a rabid feminist who frequently declared “men are garbage.” Definitely not the Bucky Barnes who worked in activism and had a veritable stash of cardboard signs he’d passionately decorated for every protest he’d ever attended. 

There was a knock at the door and it took Loki a moment to realize Bucky let in two people and not just an explosion of white fur. 

“Loki! Sweetheart, look at you out here in the wild without supervision.”

Loki felt his cheeks heat up but grinned. Sam was one of extremely few men to make it past Bucky’s insane standards to become his friend. Maybe because Sam was a little older and genuinely didn’t give three shits, but also because Sam had the tendency to simply adopt people whether they wanted it or not. 

He was dressed down today, which for Sam was never actually “dressed down.” He was in a pair of neon pink, see-through plastic pants with white track stripes down the sides, chunky white sneakers that were definitely not meant for the gym, and a yellow bomber jacket that made a lot of noise every time he moved. 

“Come here,” Sam pulled him into a hug that smelled like orchids and expensive designer stores. “Having some personal space looks good on you,” he said with all sincerity, pushing him out to arm’s length and looking him over with a keen eye. “Yes, it’s the lack of supervision, don’t you think, Nat?”

“Yeah,” Nat snapped her gum and didn’t even look up from her phone. 

“Well, look at him, for godssake,” Sam admonished her.

Nat tapped out a message and her phone chimed as she sent it. She tucked it in her back pocket and finally looked over at them. Her eyes were a striking green over the pair of heart-shaped, rose colored glasses she wore. They complimented the icy blonde of her short hair. She scanned Loki like he was a piece of art in need of critique. 

“Yeah, I think I’ve got something small enough for him,” she said finally, although they way she said it made her seem annoyed. She made a circular motion with her finger. “Give me a spin, honey.”

Loki spun tentatively. 

She nodded, snapping her gum. “Hm.”

She vanished behind the massive rolling garment organizer she’d hauled in with her. Sam squeezed Loki on the shoulder reassuringly and headed for the kitchen. 

There was a muffled grunt from the other side of the room where Bucky was already ass-end up in one of the racks of clothing Nat had brought with her. 

“So are you excited for this little party tonight, or what?” Sam asked, returning from the kitchen with a glass of pink lemonade.

Loki nodded eagerly. “I can’t believe Bucky got us invitations.”

“Oh, I’m sure he did,” Sam shot a suggestive look at the pile of clothing that now represented Bucky. “So, how is Steve these days, anyway?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Bucky said stiffly, but he was blushing furiously. 

“I hear he’s still single,” Sam pressed, sinking into the couch. 

“What?” Bucky rounded on him, his hair flying wildly into his face. “Who told you that, did he tell you that?”

Sam merely raised his eyebrows and took a sip of lemonade. Realization flooded Bucky’s face and he turned, if possible, even redder. 

“You are the worst person I’ve ever met,” he hissed. “Your pants are stupid and I hate you.”

He stomped off in the direction of his bedroom, but the effect was greatly lessened by the fact that he had an armful of brightly colored garments piled on his arm and a feather boa wrapped around his neck. Sam chuckled gleefully. 

“That was mean,” Loki said, sitting down next to him. 

Sam hummed, cheerfully unrepentant. “Sometimes you have to push your friends in the right direction, even when they don’t want to be pushed.”

“Sam!” Nat popped back into view, looking harassed. “Stop talking already, it’s my turn.”

Loki let her haul him off into his bedroom.

*

They got picked up in a car.

Loki could hardly contain his excitement. There had to be a million butterflies at war in his stomach as he slid into the back of the limo. The smell of new leather and expensive cologne hit him like a wave.

The pre-party margaritas Natasha had whipped up for them had his mind buzzing pleasantly. Loki ran his hands nervously along his legs and his fingers caught against the crystals that lined the deep green of the pants she had talked him into. Well, she hadn’t exactly “talked him into” it. Nat had put him in almost every outfit she brought over until he was dizzy, after which she picked out her three favorites and let him choose. When he had slipped into this particular outfit he couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across his face and she’d quirked a smug eyebrow, kissed him on the cheek, and told him it was a powerful choice.

She wasn’t wrong. 

The pants were a deep, emerald green and adorned with a frankly obscene amount of crystals. The fabric was cool and slinky against his legs and swished heavily every time he moved. The top was a sleeveless velvet piece with a V so deep it would have showed his belly button if his pants didn’t rise to the occasion and under the right light it matched the green of his pants, but it was basically black.

There was also a suit jacket with sharply angled shoulders and silver detailing, and a pair of stacked heels that matched the pants. They clicked when he walked. 

“Uh-uh,” Sam admonished him gently, stopping his hand before he could reach up to tuck his hair behind his ear. 

It was a nervous habit. There was no hair for him to brush away on that side anyway, Sam had deftly braided it back to show off a breathtakingly expensive ear cuff in the shape of a snake that wound from his lobe all the way up over the crest of his ear. 

Loki smiled and returned his hand to his lap. 

“You look _amazing_,” Sam said emphatically, eyeing him appreciatively. “God, everybody is going to be asking me about you. You let me know if anybody makes you uncomfortable.” Loki eyed the slosh of champagne as he pointed at him with the fluted stemware. “I know you’re perfectly capable, but it can be overwhelming at times.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, Wilson,” Natasha said, sounding bored. “He’s young, he’s not an idiot. I’m sure he can handle himself.”

Sam glared at her. “I _know_, that’s what I just said.”

Natasha didn’t seem bothered, she simply waved him off with a glittering hand and returned to her phone. She looked effortlessly glamorous in a sassy red number that clung prettily to her figure no matter how she slouched back into the leather seat.

She was still snapping bubblegum.

“Relax, both of you,” Bucky rolled his eyes and grabbed Loki’s hand and squeezed it. 

His friend had decided on a suit. It was color blocked in alternating shades of silver and black, cut asymmetrically and he’d chosen to go shirtless underneath it all, a single silver chain hung from his neck and trailed delicately down his chest and out of sight. His hair, normally pulled back in sloppy ponytails, had been braided back in big, soft pieces, leaving strands free at the front to frame his face. 

Loki smiled gratefully at him. He appreciated the concern from Sam and Natasha, he did, but he was more excited than nervous. And he was pretty sure he was made of sterner stuff than his demeanor might suggest. He wouldn’t really know, but he liked to think he was. 

He leaned forward to look out the window as they approached the house. It was inside a medieval looking gate that opened slowly to allow them access.

Loki’s heart skipped a beat. It looked like an actual fairy tale, the kind he remembered falling asleep to when he was a child. Tiny lights twinkled in every tree and a massive lake glittered in the distance just below a house that looked like something from _The Twelve Dancing Princesses._

The line of cars leading up to the house moved slowly. When they finally got to the front doors, Bucky turned to him quickly as the door was opened and Nat slid out with catlike grace.

“We might get separated here, so just get to the doors,” he instructed. “I’ll meet you there.”

Loki nodded and slid out of the car after him. A million voices and even more flashes of light assaulted him all at once. He winced and shielded his eyes, trying to follow the silver tails of Bucky’s suit. 

“Media,” Sam scoffed behind him, taking his arm. “You won’t be able to see much until we get inside, so hear me when I say look cute and don’t smile too much.”

“Don’t smile too much?” Loki hissed. 

“Fashion, baby,” Sam answered. “Observe.”

He removed his arm as they approached a red carpet. 

Figures Sam would work a carpet like he was born to it. Loki was shuffled forward and he did his absolute damndest to channel the same ferocity that Sam brought, but he wasn’t entirely sure what happened. 

“I think I just blacked out,” he said breathlessly when he got to the other end. 

“Hell, you didn’t even need my help,” Sam said encouragingly. “You worked that carpet. Now let’s go find drinks. Quickly. My buzz is wearing off and I refuse to be sober at a party.”

Loki followed him up the stairs to where Bucky stood by the entrance waiting for them.

*

Thor stared out over the wide open space below and finished off his whiskey in a single swallow. So far he’d counted three ex-girlfriends and two ex-boyfriends, making it a total of five people who wanted him dead at this party. That number would only increase as people continued to arrive. As much fun as a classic murder mystery a la _Clue_ sounded, he wasn’t keen to play Mr. Body tonight.

He scowled. It wouldn’t be so bad if Steve hadn’t abandoned him to the hellscape that was his father’s annual fundraiser.

Typical Rogers. 

He was probably out there chasing down Barnes with that stupid, ever-hopeful gleam in his eye. After a year of the same nonsense, Thor had finally stopped telling him to give it up. He wasn’t particularly well-acquainted with Barnes, but he knew Steve represented a lot of things the long-haired brunette despised, at least from a social media standpoint. From all public appearances, Steve was wealthy, carefree, and would step into the career of a lifetime through good, old fashioned nepotism. What kept Barnes coming back was the fact that Steve was exactly none of those things. The Steve that Thor knew was not extravagant by even the loosest of definitions, deeply intellectual, hopelessly romantic, _and_ had busted his ass to get where he was. In fact he’d graduated top of his class with honors with a degree he wasn’t even interested in.

Of course, he did tend to cope with the crushing depression of being forced into a career he didn’t want by acting out in certain ways. 

Nobody was _that_ perfect.

Thor saw another ex walk through the door and dropped his head against the railing. Awesome. Time to get shitfaced and forget he was here. He straightened and was just about ready to make a beeline for the bar when something caught his eye. 

Somebody, rather.

It was as if the doors had opened specifically for him. He walked through the doors like a shimmering beam of perfection and Thor didn’t even try to stop his jaw from falling open. He was tall and pale, with dark hair that tumbled in beautiful, satin curls to sweep across his upper back and shoulders. He was slight, practically swallowed up by the sheer size of the room around him, but Thor had no trouble following him as he moved through the crowd, swathed in a deep, emerald green that fit him like a glove and shifted and shimmered with the slightest bit of movement. 

“Thor, finally!” 

Thor didn’t spare a glance as his best friend approached him, busy tracking the newcomer through the crowd. 

“I looked up and you were gone,” Steve said, clapping him on the back. “You’re not allowed to hide up here all night. I’m not going to get blamed for abandoning you like last year.”

“You _did_ abandon me,” Thor said crossly. “You disappeared with Barnes, remember?”

“I don’t think I did, though,” Steve pretended to think. “You see, you left me. Barnes simply comforted me in your absence.”

Thor snorted. 

“But you’re not allowed to do that tonight,” Steve told him. “You’re going to have fun, and I’m here to ensure that. No moping over your lack of a love life.”

“My lack of a love life?” Thor laughed incredulously. “What’s Barnes’ number, again?”

Steve scowled. It was a sore spot for him. “Just because I don’t have his number yet—”

“It’s been a year!”

“We’re keeping things casual,” Steve sniffed defensively.

Thor chortled, “Face it, you’re not even a booty call, Rogers.”

“You’re a jerk. It’s not like that, he just has high standards.”

“Not if he’s sleeping with you, he doesn’t.”

That earned him a punch in the shoulder, but Thor took it as fair play. He liked to give his friend shit, but the truth of it was he hoped Barnes would come around because Steve was certifiably gone on him and at this point it was unlikely he’d ever get over it.

Shimmering green caught Thor’s eye again. “Hey, speaking of Barnes—”

“Is he here?” Steve cut him off a little too eagerly. 

Thor spared him a disdainful look. “Okay, Romeo. Cool it,” he jerked his chin towards the main bar below. “But yes. Behold your lover.”

Steve couldn’t hold back a silly grin from spreading across his face.

“Do you know who he brought with him this year?” Thor asked casually, pushing his hands in his pockets as the emerald boy smiled and laughed at something Barnes said. His stomach fluttered. “I don’t think we’ve seen him before.”

Steve frowned a little. “Well, he asked for two invites this year instead of the usual one.”

Thor looked at his friend sharply. “Do you think that means—”

“No,” Steve said, shaking his head. “No, he said it was for a childhood friend who just moved to town. Do you remember Helblindi and Byleistr from preschool?” 

“The Laufeysons?” Thor’s eyebrows shot upward and looked into the crowd again. “I didn’t realize there were three of them.”

“Well, I don’t think it was very well known,” Steve said. “From what I heard I think the third was like, super sickly or something. Super sad. They had to homeschool him and stuff.”

“Yikes,” Thor winced sympathetically. “Why do you think he’s showing up now?”

“Beats me, maybe he got better?” Steve shrugged and then something seemed to dawn on him. His gaze narrowed. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason,” Thor said hastily. 

Steve glanced down the crowd and back at him, putting two and two together. “Oh okay, I see, you’re into that, aren’t you?”

“Maybe you could get Barnes to introduce us? Please?” Thor pleaded. 

Steve regarded him grumpily, but there was no heat to it. “You know, I could easily let you hang for this, with all the shit you give me. But yes, I will see what I can do.”

“I will never, _ever_ give you a hard time _ever_ again,” Thor said earnestly. 

“God, you’re so lucky I never believe you when you say stupid shit like that,” Steve threw an arm around his neck good naturedly and steered him toward the stairs. “What you actually need right now is a drink. Come on.”

It was an excruciating journey and one Thor wasn’t particularly keen on taking, but he gritted his teeth and slid into his social persona to work through the barrage of questions and niceties from the frankly obscene amount of people on their way downstairs.

By the time they got to the bar, Barnes and his friend were gone. Thor couldn’t help but feel disappointed. 

“Oh, cheer up,” Steve said, motioning for the bartender. “We’ll see him again. And because I am more than just a booty call to his roommate, contrary to your opinion, I’m sure we’ll see him much sooner than you might think.”

Thor sulked and buried himself in the whiskey as soon as the bartender slid it across the counter. 

The night just got significantly worse from there. Every time he caught a glimpse of the emerald boy (as he had come to refer to him in his head) he was across the room being absolutely breathtaking and completely out of reach. An hour and a half of attempts and two conversations with exes later, Thor was back against the wall with a tumbler of whiskey. 

Figured. 

He swirled the drink and watched as emerald boy chatted amiably with somebody he didn’t know. Thor glowered. It wasn’t fair for him to be that pretty, it just wasn’t. If he didn’t at least get a name by the end of the night he would be forced to get it out of Barnes. That wasn’t something anybody wanted.

“Oh, you have got it bad.”

Somebody tsked next to him. Thor thought he smelled orchids. 

“Who are you?” he asked grumpily. 

“I’m Sam,” the other man said smoothly. 

Thor spared him a glance. “Go away, Sam.” 

“Whatever you say,” Sam waved a hand. 

He left.

Thor drank.

When he finally left the party hours later he was sober again. His father had an affinity for spying on him and all his activities outside the business, so Thor chose to drive himself. It helped that he loved to drive fast cars.

Relief washed over him as security let him pass and he slipped into the silence and solitude of his red Audi R8. His house was on the other side of town, which gave him the time to decompress and let the air whip through his hair. Another fundraiser come and gone. Three hundred and sixty four days until he had to do it again. 

It still wouldn’t be enough time to recover. 

He pulled into his drive and turned the car off, leaving him in silence. 

Somebody sighed and he froze.

_What the hell?_

There was movement in the back seat through the rear view mirror. He whipped around in the seat and stopped cold. Dark hair, pale skin, glittering emerald. 

Thor turned back to his steering wheel in shock. What the fuck? How had he missed a whole person in his back seat. 

He glanced in the rear view mirror again. 

How had he missed _that_ person in his back seat?! He got out quickly and opened the back door. 

Emerald boy was no longer wearing the jacket he’d been wearing earlier, exposing delicate shoulders. He looked like he’d had quite a bit to drink, but otherwise seemed alright. He was breathing deeply. Thor frowned.

“You know I spent all night trying to meet you,” he said, putting a hand on one hip and shaking his head in wonder. “Ironic isn’t it…”

He waved his hand in front of the other man’s face. Nothing. He tried a couple more times with a shake to the shoulder or a couple of words, but damn if he wasn’t down for the count. 

Well, there was nothing for it. He patted him down for a phone.

“I know, I know it looks bad and I swear to god I’m not trying to take advantage of you,” Thor cringed apologetically as he narrated his actions, hoping it would make him feel like less of a creep (it didn’t). “I just gotta let your friends know you’re okay.”

His mind flashed to Barnes briefly, but he didn’t have the other man’s number. Hell, Steve didn’t even have Barnes’ number. 

“Okay, seriously, who doesn’t carry their phone with them?” Thor scolded him gently when he came up empty. “You don’t even have a wallet on you, what if you’d been stuck with somebody else, hm? Stupid.”

Thor waited a moment, as if somehow he would wake up and respond to him, which of course he didn’t. Thor sighed. Well, he couldn’t sleep out here, could he? He shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over pale arms that were covered in goosebumps now. Had he been cold this whole time?

Asshole. 

Thor berated himself and lifted him out of the car. Even as dead weight emerald boy was light as a feather. He eased inside and a giant wolf the size of a small car bounded over to greet him, barking happily.

“Fenris! Shh!” Thor said hastily. “Calm down, you’ll scare him.”

Fenris whined and barked a couple more times. Little emerald stirred briefly in Thor’s arms, curling into his chest. 

“—n’t….don’t tell my mom….I don’t want to move…” the words were soft and a little desperate. 

Thor felt a pang in his chest but he was already asleep again, a hand curled into the fabric of Thor’s shirt. Thor wondered for the millionth time how the hell he’d ended up here. 

“It’s alright, you’re safe with me,” he said gently, carrying him across the house to one of his guest rooms. “You can tell me about it in the morning.”

Fenris followed him dutifully, panting frantically, his massive tail whipping back and forth. 

“There you go, sweetheart,” Thor said, laying him down and going to remove his shoes. “Look, I’ve never worn heels personally, but I’m going to assume you’ll sleep much better with them off.”

He put the shoes neatly to the side, but in plain sight for when he woke up. Then he retrieved the blankets folded up at the base of the bed and tucked them around emerald’s slight form. 

Thor stood back and put a hand on his hip, reaching out to pet Fenris. “Well buddy, I hope this means he had a better night than I did.” He glanced at the wolf who tilted his head curiously. “Yeah, I know. Come on, let him sleep you big dummy.”

Fenris followed him from the room.

*

Loki came to in total darkness. 

He blinked a couple times to clear his eyes and it remained pitch black. 

Panic gripped him. He was blind.

He had gone to a party for the first time in his life, disobeyed his mother’s strict instructions, and now he’d gone blind. Oh god, he was going to have to go home and he was going to have to explain to his mom that he’d been utterly stupid and suffer the humiliation of her “mother is always right” lecture. At least maybe he would get a guide dog? But that wasn’t comforting in the slightest.

Feeling sick, he felt around the bed, trying to remember where he and Bucky had placed his bedside lamp yesterday. 

There was a soft beep and a mechanical whirr and black fog cleared like smoke from a set of large, floor-to-ceiling windows to his right. Light poured in, giving shape to the room around him and letting him know he was definitely not blind. Relief rushed through him.

Not blind then. And not as stupid as he thought. Other than a blinding headache things were going to be just fine. 

Maybe. 

This was not his room. 

Loki sat bolt upright again and instantly regretted it. His head throbbed, but he wasn’t paying attention to that right now. The room wasn’t that big, but it felt expensive and smelled like it had come straight from a furniture store. 

He pushed himself up out of bed. 

God, he knew he’d gone a little overboard but he hadn’t expected to wake up feeling _this_ awful. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and took a few steps forward. He was steady, at least, so that was good.

He let his feet slide over the dark paneled wood and bit his lip a little, delighted to find that it was warm. Heated floors. The glittering green of his pants swished as he shuffled a short path towards the door and back, reveling in the gentle warmth against his bare feet. 

The shoes he’d borrowed from Natasha were tucked neatly against the wall, side by side. Had he done that? Wow, he didn’t remember a thing. 

He padded to the door and turned the brass knob. The door was heavy, but sat on well-oiled hinges that allowed it to swing soundlessly and reveal a massive, open space. Loki felt his eyes widen as far as they could go. 

It was really, _really_ pretty.

Like the bedroom, the aesthetic was dark. The blackness of the floors was muted, seemingly infinite in a way that swallowed the light if it got too close, but it was a soft black, warm in the same way gentle heat radiated from them. 

“Hello?” he called tentatively. “Good morning?”

His voice sounded very small as it traveled up through vaulted ceilings that came to a peak of pure glass that allowed the sunshine to spill into the darkly paneled kitchen to his right. There was a giant island with a black marble top so big he could have stretched out across it twice.

There was no response, so he ventured a little further, smiling a little at being lost in some giant mansion with nobody in it. Maybe it was haunted. 

He shivered with the thrill of the thought.

To his left there was a wide open space with the biggest, fluffiest couch he had ever seen. He refrained from running and jumping onto it, but it looked like the kind of couch that was made for such a thing. It was also dark, a grey color that offset the darkness of the floors, but what really caught his eye was a grand piano, nestled in a corner against the wall, gleaming immaculately. Loki felt a tug of yearning in his chest. Since he’d started the process of moving he hadn’t had the chance to play as much and he missed it.

He walked over and raised the cover gently, smiling a little when the keys peered back up at him, a perfect row of little teeth. He ran the pads of his fingers over the matte finish of each one. The finish was still a bit stiff. Barely played then, if at all, and thus probably dismally out of tune. It was a shame, really. A _Strauss & Son_ shouldn’t be sitting around collecting dust. 

He eased the cover down and wandered back towards the kitchen, hugging his arms close and rubbing them against the goosebumps that prickled along his skin. The heated floors were great but the rest of the house around him was as cold as it was empty.

He managed to find a glass in a cupboard and filled it with tap water. It tasted funny, like a brita filter that was changed regularly. It soothed the dryness of his throat and he set it in the sink.

Emboldened by the lack of response from literally anything in the house, he began to wander a little more brazenly. He found rooms on rooms, mostly filled with art he supposed was probably expensive and more leather couches that he wanted to jump on. Each room was as dark as the next until he came to the end of the house and turned the corner. 

A small gasp escaped his lips when he saw it. It was all glass and it looked like it had been added onto the house quite some time after it had been built. There were raw edges that ran flush against the glass panels that looked like they’d been roughly hewn to fit. The glass rose all the way up to the sky, ending in a domed top that was as tall as the vaulted ceilings in the kitchen. 

He could see what looked like a rainbow contained within, so bright, in fact, it felt like an assault on his vision after the darkness of the house. Excitement fluttered in his chest as he reached for the handle and opened it with a smooth click. Warmth and humidity rushed over him in a glorious wave. 

There were plants _everywhere_. Explosions of pink and orange and yellow and purple were everywhere he could see. There were flowers as big as two of his own head, some of them were so heavy they bowed the stocks they were perched on. All around him were different kinds of leaves, tiny ones, medium ones, ones with little spines on them, and even leaves so big they looked like he could raft down a river on them and stay afloat. Tendrils of green crept up the walls and spilled abundantly from planters that hung from the ceiling in a waterfall of greenery. 

A grin stretched its way across his face and happiness swelled in his chest. He threw back his head and spun, laughing as he spread his arms and let his fingers brush gently against the plants, breathing in the scent of earth and damp and flowers whose names he couldn’t even begin to know. 

This was paradise. 

He took off running down the aisle, laughing and kicking up the smooth pebbles that lined the floor. It seemed to go on forever and ever and the farther he ran the stranger the plants became, exotic and definitely nothing he’d ever seen before, or maybe once or twice in a book. 

If all rich people spent their money like this, even Bucky might be less inclined to hate them (but probably not).

When he finally reached the end of the path, he paused to catch his breath, gulping down the heavy, earthy air. He was about to take off back the way he came when he caught sight of something extremely furry. A frown tugged the corner of his mouth.

“Hello?” he said breathlessly, creeping forward. 

The ball of fur was a lot bigger than he thought it was and it was breathing deeply, the rise and fall of it’s chest long and slow. 

“Hi,” Loki said again, crouching to try and find a face. 

He needn’t have bothered. The fur shifted and suddenly he was looking into a pair of brilliantly green eyes set within the skull of the biggest wolf he had ever seen.

*

Thor woke up thirsty, he could feel it in the back of his throat where his tongue pressed to the back of his mouth and stuck there. He lay motionless for a moment before forcing himself up to piss and down a glass of water from the tumbler he kept in the cupboard in the bathroom.

He scratched his head and yawned as he looked at himself in the mirror with the distinct feeling like he was missing something. He felt like that most days though, if he were being completely honest. 

He gulped down another glass of water and then shut the cup back into the shelf behind the glass of the mirror. 

Another Sunday after a fundraiser. Another headache. He shuffled into his closet and pulled on a clean pair of lounge pants and his favorite shirt. It had been a couple years since he’d started collecting vintage band tees and when he wasn’t in work clothes he wore little else. 

The morning went much like any other morning. He turned on the espresso machine and let it warm up while he picked out music to stream through the house. It felt like a classics kind of morning. He turned it up until the easy lilt of _Eagles_ guitar streamed through the overhead speakers. 

He hummed along as he steamed milk and ground espresso for his morning latte, making a pleased little noise when the shot pulled full and golden into his mug on the first try. Making a coffee was his favorite part of his weekend mornings and he made sure to take his time to make it perfect. 

That said, his latte art still left something to be desired but at least it didn’t look like a penis anymore. Most of the time, anyway. He frowned down at his most recent attempt and promptly pulled the pointed tip of his thermometer through it to erase it. 

It was a work in progress.

He slid into one of the bar stools at the counter and pressed the button beneath the counter that would bring his computer up from a hidden partition within the island. He liked to take his coffee and his news beneath the sun from the skylight and had specifically asked his architect to work it into the plans for the kitchen remodel. 

It was his favorite feature. 

The news was surprisingly uneventful today, mostly petty celebrity shit. For once his father hadn’t made the news—not even twitter’s top trending—which meant he would definitely be in a mood today. Thor reached for his phone and preemptively put it on ‘do not disturb’. The last thing he needed on the last day of the weekend after the fundraiser was to listen to his father rant about arbitrary stats he’d convinced himself were important. He was honestly surprised the call hadn’t come through yet. 

He yawned and finished his coffee, still humming easily as his playlist shuffled through an extensive list that included the best of _The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Duran Duran, Beach Boys,_ and _Don Henley_, among others. He could play most of them on guitar, which he’d probably get to later today if he got the chance. He glanced guiltily at the piano which hadn’t been touched since he’d directed the movers where to set it up. 

His eyes caught the dull gleam of Fenris’ dog bowl in the corner and he frowned upon sudden realization. 

That was what felt off.

Fenris had not been there to greet him this morning. It wasn’t unusual for the giant wolf to find a cool spot somewhere else in the house to sleep. Fenris wasn’t the most attached of canines and where other people’s dogs followed at their owner’s heels, Fenris would have been perfectly content to exist on the same continent as Thor. 

But he was never late for breakfast and he never let Thor forget it either.

Distant barking reached his ears. 

Thor sighed as he pinpointed the sound. The big oaf had somehow figured out how to let himself into the greenhouse and sometimes he locked himself in. Why he could let himself in but not out was a mystery.

“Alright, alright, calm down,” he said, shoving away from the counter. 

The barking continued and he frowned. It was a lot of barking and it didn’t sound like the usual annoyed “come feed me” variety. Thor’s eyes flickered around and landed on the open door to the guest bedroom across from the piano room. 

Memories hit him like a brick wall. 

The car. An unconscious guest in the back, draped in glittering green.

Shit. 

_Shit!_

Thor nearly sent his mug flying across the island as he bolted from the kitchen towards the sound. The barking got louder and worst case scenarios began flipping through his head, everything from Fenris cornering the tiny, pale boy to completely mauling him and ripping him limb from limb. 

He reached the door and flung it open, fully prepared to haul one hundred and eighty pounds of fur off his guest’s mangled body—

—only to come to a dead halt.

There was no blood. There were no screams. There wasn’t even the guttural sound of a growl. 

A peal of laughter rang joyfully through the air, undercut by the quick sound of footsteps, light as a feather as they lit upon the smooth gravel floor. A flash of green tore down the pathway and darted to the right between thick walls of green. 

Fenris bounded into view next, ears alert and tail wagging. He found his target in seconds and Thor heard the boy dissolve into giggles.

_Well, I’ll be damned._

Thor took a moment to recover from his panic and strolled over to where Fenris hunched over his new playmate, licking him stupid. 

“Alright, let him breathe, you big ball of fur,” he said, pushing his hands into his pockets as he did. 

Fenris whined and pinned his ears back against his head but he sat back on his haunches obediently. Thor glanced down to make sure his unexpected guest was alright and felt the breath punch out of him. 

He was pushing himself up from the ground, breathless and sparkling, the prettiest pink flush blossoming across his pale cheeks and the bridge of his nose that displayed the faintest of freckles. He was still wearing his party outfit and he looked absolutely stunning with the too-long pants pooling around his bare feet in swaths of green crystal. The top was basically two strips of velvet that showed off delicate collar bones and the pretty slope of his shoulders, which only served to make Thor even stupider.

He swallowed.

“I’m so sorry about him,” he said, extending his hand with a jerk of his other thumb. “He can be a lot.”

“Oh no, we get along great,” his glittering guest responded, taking his proffered hand with the kind of surety that only came from a person who hadn’t yet learned it wasn’t smart to trust strangers.

His hand was delicate and graceful and felt like it might break if squeezed too hard. Thor dropped his hand as quickly as he’d taken it.

Glimmering green eyes turned on him and Thor forgot what air was for a blissful couple seconds. Then emerald’s face shifted to something a little less bright. 

“Oh my god, I’m so embarrassed,” he said, the words falling out of his mouth in a rush. “I don’t know what to say. I thought I could handle myself at the party last night and now I have no idea what happened last night or even why I’m here, I don’t even know your name and I—”

“Hey, hey, slow down,” Thor cut him off gently with a reassuring smile. “It’s not a problem, trust me you’re the least problematic thing to happen to me after a party like that.”

He was, however, the most interesting by far.

“Why don’t we try this fresh, hm?” Thor said. “I’m Thor.”

A shy curve of perfect lips. “Loki.”

Loki. Thor let it settle in his mind. It was light and different and it fit him like the perfect piece of a puzzle. 

“Loki, hm?” He said just to say it out loud. “It suits you.”

Loki’s grin broadened and it hit Thor like a breath of fresh spring air. It was nothing like the coy smiles of the sycophants his father surrounded them with, it was sincere and sweet and completely disarming.

“Is this whole place yours?” Loki asked, his attention caught by a rather large amazonian lily that he stopped to lean over.

Thor rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Something like that, yeah.”

Most people didn’t know about the greenhouse. Hell, even Steve barely knew about it. Thor kept the greenhouse under wraps for many reasons, but mostly he was just embarrassed. Growing plants wasn’t exactly going to give him the skills to maintain an empire when he came into it. But it made him happy and plants just seemed to flourish for him. Some people listened to music, he had plants... 

Loki straightened. “Do you take care of all of this by yourself, too?

“When I have time,” Thor lied, “I have something of a green thumb.” 

“Yeah, no shit,” Loki said, his eyes dancing.

Thor melted just a bit more. Maybe it was the pure, unadulterated wonder with which Loki looked at...well, everything, but he felt himself relaxing more and more with every second in his presence. He wasn’t used to people who didn’t hide their real feelings behind masks on masks of political commentary and niceties. 

“I’m sorry I wasn’t awake to greet you when you woke up,” he said sincerely. “Allow me to make it up to you with breakfast?”

Loki brightened. “I would love that.”

*

Loki knew he was a lot of things, but lucky had never been one of them. Chaos followed him like a loyal hound, but Lady Luck seemed content to dote on everyone but him. It all made sense that she had simply been saving up all his luck for this precise moment in time because here he was, being treated to breakfast by the spoiled son and heir of Odin, revered businessman and billionaire.

Thor was tall and broad with a voice that resonated in his massive chest like aged wood as he asked Loki questions. He was wearing a pair of jeans, neatly cuffed at the ankles, and an ancient looking band tee. Loki didn’t need to see beneath the thin fabric to know he had the muscle structure and bodyfat percentage of an athlete, although he wouldn’t have minded a look just to be sure. 

He leaned an elbow into the polished black granite of the island and watched his back ripple and shift as he made them breakfast.

It was surprisingly good. 

“And I thought you were just a pretty face,” he teased. 

Thor’s cheeks reddened and Loki couldn’t help but feel a little pleased, his stomach doing a little flip and sending goosebumps down his arms. Thor was a good conversationalist for being somebody who definitely didn’t have to be. All anybody had to do was look into the impossible blue of his eyes and literally nothing else mattered. 

“So, do you play?” Loki asked him, nodding towards the piano behind them. 

He might actually need the man to propose to him on the spot if he played the piano.

“Not yet,” Thor said, flushing a little. “Do you?”

“A little,” Loki lied, tucking his hair behind his ear nervously. 

“Could you play something?” Thor asked eagerly.

Loki hesitated. He could. Easily. He just didn’t know if he wanted to in front of this perfect human being who had probably been attending concerts with the likes of Yang Yang and Yuja Wang for years. 

“Please?”

“I’m sorry, I’m so hungover,” he said. “Any other time I might, but my head might explode.”

“I guess we’ll have to see each other again, then,” Thor said with a brilliant smile. 

Butterflies raged in his chest. Thor was so pretty it hurt. Loki looked down at his food. 

“So, I’m going to be honest, I still have questions. Did I—” his cheeks burned. “How did I end up here?”

It had been bothering him since Thor found him in the greenhouse. He remembered drinks, he remembered dancing, and he remembered laughing with his friends but then things got fuzzy. He hoped to god he hadn’t done something embarrassing. 

Thor looked at him curiously. “Do you remember anything about your night?”

Loki frowned and chased syrup around his empty plate with a spoon. “I mean, I remember the party, but at one point things just got really fuzzy and I don’t remember much past that.”

“Damn, you must have had one hell of a night,” Thor laughed and then sobered a little. “Good for you. This is going to sound bad, but I have no idea how you ended up in my car.”

Loki raised his eyebrows. “So we didn’t meet last night?”

“Not technically, no,” Thor said uncomfortably, bringing a giant hand up to rub the back of his neck. Loki tracked the movement. Even his forearms were attractive, _jesus._

“Honestly, I was tired and I didn’t realize you were in the back seat until I got home. It was honestly impressive,” Thor added. “Not many people can get past Volstagg and his security guard act.”

Loki vaguely remembered laughing and chatting with a giant, red-bearded man next to a line of cars. That must have been Volstagg. 

“Oh my god,” he groaned, catching his head in his hands. “I’m so embarrassed.”

Thor was quick to reassure him. 

“Please, don’t be,” he said, making Loki look up through his fingers. “This is honestly the best morning I’ve had in a long time. Really. I should be thanking you.”

He looked remorseful enough. Loki had been told he shouldn’t trust people in the big wide world, but he couldn’t help but trust Thor. He seemed genuinely thrilled to have the company and if Loki took advantage of it in order to bask in the glow that seemed to radiate off him, he didn’t feel quite so bad. Then again—

“Bucky is probably beside himself,” he said guiltily. “I should probably go home soon.”

“I can take you,” Thor offered, clearing their plates away. “No, don’t be ridiculous,” he added when Loki began to protest, looking affronted. “I have to go into town anyway, it’ll be a small detour.”

Loki caved and agreed to let him drive him. 

That was, of course, until he walked into the garage. Unending rows of beautiful, pristine, gleaming cars as far as he could see. He let out a gasp of delight. Oh, there was no way Thor was driving him home in any of these, not when he, Loki, had completed over three hundred hours behind the wheel.

“Is that a little bit of a speed demon I’m seeing?” Thor teased, his eyes dancing as he walked past to unlock a glass case on the wall that housed the keys. 

Loki could tell he was preening under the attention, but he didn’t blame him. It was a beautiful collection and he doubted Thor got to show it off very often, let alone to anybody who truly appreciated it. Not that he knew much about cars, given, but his father had owned quite a few so it wasn’t entirely wasted on him.

“So do I get to choose?” he asked. 

Thor chuckled and his smile sent the butterflies in his chest to war. 

It took some convincing, but Thor eventually agreed to let him drive. Loki hadn’t technically applied for his license yet, but Thor didn’t need to know that. And he _had_ scored perfectly on all his driving courses. He couldn’t help but feel powerful behind the wheel of the Lamborghini, apparently Thor’s “every day car” to which Loki burst out laughing and called him a pretentious asshole. Thor also had a couple motorcycles that Loki had tried to coax him into riding, but Thor flatly refused and handed him the keys to the car. 

He drove flawlessly. There were a couple times he thought Thor might have had a small stroke, but overall his shifting had been perfect and he hadn’t stalled once.

He smirked as he pulled up to the house. 

Thor let out a subtle but relieved breath beside him and Loki smiled at him primly and killed the engine in the drive, ignoring the pang in his chest as he did. Was it too much for him to want to stay already? 

Thor’s eyes were deeply blue when he looked at him and the keys jingled gently as he placed them in the warmth of him massive palm. It sent an electric shock up his arm. He pulled his hand back quickly.

Sam’s car was parked outside, which meant he was over. The rainbow flag on the porch flapped tentatively in the little breeze as they got out of the car. Bucky must have heard them pull up.

“Where have you been, I’ve been worried sick,” Bucky hurried down the short stairwell and yanked Loki a fierce hug. “Do you know how dead I would be if your mother found out? I would be dead yesterday! How are you, are you okay?”

He said all of this in rapid succession, holding Loki out at arm’s length to look him over and brushing his hair out of his face. Loki laughed nervously, glancing at Thor. 

“I’m fine, I just didn’t have a way to contact you,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

Bucky squinted at him shrewdly, unconvinced. “We’re getting you a phone today,” he said firmly before rounding on Thor. “And you! I can’t believe you!” 

Thor opened his mouth to respond but Bucky cut him off. 

“Stay away from him!”

Bucky tugged his arm insistently and marched them back to the house. Loki shot Thor an apologetic look as he was herded into the house. Thor looked appropriately chastised but gave him a soft smile that made his stomach flutter. Bucky pulled the door shut. 

“Thor Odinson?!” Bucky demanded immediately.

Loki grinned absently, preoccupied with the memory of Thor’s towering presence beside him. 

“He’s been beside himself,” Sam told him from the couch looking utterly put upon. “Absolutely insufferable.”

Bucky looked scandalized. “With good reason! Loki! Thor Odinson? Of all the people—”

“Did I hear you say Thor?” Sam perked up from the couch, reappearing from behind his phone. 

Bucky waved furiously to shut him up. “He’s literally the city’s most problematic rich boy. I can’t believe I take my eyes off you for half a second and this is what happens...”

Loki nodded along, letting his friend devolve into a rant about the patriarchy while he began to remove the tangled nest of pins from his hair. He trailed towards the bathroom, desperate to wash his face and brush his hair out. Bucky followed him, pink in the face and somehow now on the topic of social oppression. 

He worked the knots out of his hair and then pulled it back with a pink velvet scrunchie, humming in agreement whenever Bucky paused to take a breath. He worked his facewash into a lather and ran the faucet. 

“Hey, Buck,” He said, surfacing from the ice cold water as Bucky ranted. “Bucky!”

“What?” Bucky stopped talking mid-sentence and then frowned and handed him a clean face towel. 

Loki took it gratefully and patted off his skin before continuing. “Nothing happened, I promise. Thor was a perfect gentleman—no, stop, let me finish,” he held up a finger. “I don’t know a whole lot and I may be naive, but I’m fine. It sounds like it could have gone a lot worse and it didn’t so can you stop yelling for five minutes and understand that? Please?”

Bucky squirmed. “Okay, I know, I’m sorry. I just—”

“You just what?”

“I just promised your mom nothing would happen to you,” he said honestly. “And I feel like I already failed.”

Loki smiled at him and he looked properly abashed. See? His friend, actual marshmallow, Bucky Barnes. The door slammed at that moment, distracting them both. 

“Are you losers even up?” The bored tones of Nat’s voice floated down the short hallway. 

“Oh, they’re up, believe me,” Sam said.

“I’m honestly surprised you are,” Bucky said peevishly but without heat. “Thanks for all your help last night, by the way.”

Loki shook his bottle of toner and dispensed some between his hands before pressing it into his face, peering between his fingers as Natasha appeared. She was wearing docs, fishnets, a leather mini skirt and an oversized shirt that read _“not ur baby”_ on the front in neon pink lettering. 

“What the fuck would you need help at a party for, Barnes?” She asked skeptically from behind a massive pink bubble.

It popped as Bucky pointed at Loki who frowned and moved on to moisturizer. 

“I can see you, you know,” he told Bucky dryly before addressing Nat. “I just went a little too hard. You didn’t happen to see anything, did you? Somehow I ended up asleep in the back of Thor Odinson’s car.”

“I didn’t see anything,” she shrugged. “I mean, last I saw you were talking to Sif and Fandral. Seemed like you were having a good time.”

“Ugh. Yeah, well, thank god he’s dating Sif otherwise things probably would have gone _much_ differently,” Bucky sniffed, walking away. 

_Oh…_

Loki’s heart sank. Thor was in a relationship? That was…oddly disappointing...

Nat raised a perfect brow at Bucky’s dramatics but ignored him otherwise, turning to Loki. “I have a gift for you, little man.”

She dug into her bag for a second and pulled out a little black rectangle with a glittering case. 

“Sam said you didn’t have a phone, which means you didn’t get any pictures last night which is a shame in that outfit, but more importantly, you didn’t have a way to get phone numbers.” She held it out for him. “The case is a little over the top for you, I think, but you can have it. It still works just fine.”

It was really sweet. Loki felt a rush of warmth and gratitude towards her.

“Really?”

She waved it at him. “Yeah, take it. I update phones every six months anyway, I have tons.”

Loki took it gently from her and couldn’t help that his first thought was to see who knew Thor’s number. He followed Nat out into the living room where she plopped down in their fluffy, white recliner, and disappeared behind her current massive phone. Loki sat down across from Sam while Bucky carried on in the kitchen making an outrageous amount of noise just to make sure they knew he was not happy. 

“So, Thor Odinson,” Sam asked in a low voice as soon as he sat down. “What did you think of our resident rich boy?”

Loki thought of crystal blue eyes and a sweet smile that made his stomach flip over on itself. His cheeks heated. 

“He was really nice,” he said carefully, a little wary now that he knew Bucky’s rather aggressive views on him. 

“And?” Sam prodded. “Did you like him?”

He must have been bright red by now from the amount of heat that rushed to his face and spread down his neck. A smile spread over Sam’s face. 

“Did I forget to mention I ran into him last night?” he said casually, his eyes sparking mischievously. “It’s not my place to say, but he seemed very interested in you from across the room.”

“Did he...say anything about me?” Loki couldn’t stop the fact that he sat up straighter, completely invested in whatever words Sam was going to say next. 

Sam laughed. “He’s not very talkative, but I imagine that wouldn’t be true in your case,” he glanced at the kitchen where Bucky was noisily taking coffee things out of cabinets. “I might know somebody with his number. I’ll get it for you in exchange for a small favor.”

Loki frowned. “A favor?”

“Yes,” Sam leaned backward, looking smug. “Let me take you shopping for some real clothes and that number is as good as yours.”

*

“What about golf? We can get some beer, fuck around on the course all day, what do you say?”

Thor pinned his phone to his ear with a shoulder and snipped off a dead flower. He added it to the bucket at his feet with a heavy thud.

“I dunno, I’m not really feeling it today,” he said. 

“What do you mean you’re not feeling it?!” Steve sounded suspicious on the other end of the line. 

Thor wrinkled his nose and sighed. He should have realized the suggestion for what it was, which was Steve’s underhanded way of telling him he knew something was up. Steve was both too shrewd for his own good and too well acquainted with Thor’s habits.

Whenever Thor was feeling low or particularly bratty they would play because, while neither one of them could stand the game, it enraged Odin for them to get drunk and goad on the paparazzi. And nothing cheered Thor up like pissing his father off. They hadn’t done it in a long time though.

It was a good thing Steve was as solid as they came, otherwise Thor would have to kill him for knowing too much. 

“I don’t know what to tell you,” Thor said breezily, hoping his friend would drop it. “I’m just feeling like a quiet day in.”

There was a gasp and then silence on the other end of the line. Thor frowned and clipped off another dead flower.

“Steve?”

“Are you kidding me!”

Snip. Thud. “What!”

“You didn’t tell me you took somebody home last night!”

Thor straightened from bending over some purple orchids and adjusted the phone against his ear with a frown. “What do you mean?”

“There are pictures! You and the Laufeyson kid!”

Something icy gripped Thor’s heart as it dropped to his feet. 

“His name is Loki,” he growled walking to the window and peering past the fogged glass out onto his grounds. “How the fuck did the paparazzi get onto my property?”

“They didn’t,” Steve said, the frown evident in his voice. “It looks like this picture is just outside your property line. Assholes. You let him drive the Lambo?” 

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

Steve laughed. “What I’m hearing is that this Loki guy was convincing enough to talk you into letting him drive your baby. Pretty _and_ smart. Maybe you’ve met your match.”

“You know what, shut up.”

“I can’t believe I had to find this out from twitter,” Steve said morosely. “I thought we were friends.”

Thor heaved a heavy sigh as he returned to his bucket and carried it over to the lemon tree. It was supremely healthy and certain point of pride for him. Fat, yellow lemons hung from the branches, a bright and happy spot in his otherwise depressing and mundane life. He pulled his gloves out of his back pocket and tossed them on the ground.

“How did he end up at your house anyway,” Steve asked, the obvious sounds of a coffee machine in the background. “History says it didn’t happen because you’re a smooth talker.”

Thor took his shears and stepped over Fenris who was sleeping in the middle of the pathway, as usual. 

“Hey, I’m not terrible!” Thor protested. “But it wasn’t like that, he just...ended up in my car.”

Steve snorted. “What, he just fell into it on your way home?”

“No, seriously,” Thor snapped. “He was just there. I have no idea how he got past Volstagg.”

“Whoa, we’re touchy this morning. I was just kidding,” Steve said.

“Sorry,” Thor set his shears down with a clang and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m frustrated. I have no idea how he got there. I didn’t realize he was there until I got home. He didn’t have a phone or any ID on him and it’s not like you have Barnes’ phone number.”

“Okay, harsh,” Steve complained. “But fair. So you think somebody put him there on purpose? I don’t mean to be that guy, but is there a chance he might have planned it that way?”

Thor’s immediate reaction was to defend Loki, but Steve wasn’t completely off base. They had both dealt with their fair share of opportunists and it didn’t hurt to be wary. He thought of Loki and his perfect smile and his brilliant green eyes, sparkling with unbridled enthusiasm. 

“I don’t think so,” he answered. “You should have seen this guy, Steve, he was so...refreshingly genuine. I’m telling you, there was nothing shady about him.”

“Well, I hate to break it to you, pal, but welcome to my world,” Steve said. “You’re absolutely twitterpated. Smitten. Head over heels. In _loooove…_”

He sang the last word and Thor groaned. 

“Steve,” he complained.

“Okay, okay, I was just messing with you,” Steve said quickly. “No golf, and honestly, thank god. It’s too hot for that shit. I’ll come over, I’ll bring the Nikka Malt Whiskey and we can watch the game.”

“Yes, please. Just give me a couple hours, I’m in the greenhouse.”

Steve laughed and agreed. Thor tucked the phone in his back pocket and sighed. 

“Dad is going to be pissed about that picture, Fenris,” he told the wolf. 

Fenris blinked and went back to licking his paw. 

Thor sighed.

*

“I want to see all of them!”

Loki shut the door of the dressing room and turned around to look at the sheer number of outfits Sam had gleefully given the dressing room attendant. He had a sinking feeling this shopping trip was going to take a lot longer than he was ready for.

He was excited for new clothes, but he couldn’t help feeling a little guilty. Sam had insisted on paying for at least three outfits and refused to leave until they found them. 

It was going to be a long day. 

He thought of the easy baritone of Thor’s voice and the way it seemed to fill all the empty spaces in his chest. It warmed him even now. Okay, so maybe he would love to have a new wardrobe for when he ran into Thor again. He bit his lip to hide his own smile that threatened to spread across his face.

He snatched a pair of retro, acid wash jeans from the pile and pulled them on. He dutifully added everything Sam had instructed him to which included a soft v-neck tee that exposed more chest than Loki considered normal, a blue leather jacket with quilted shoulders, and a pair of soft grey chelsea boots made of suede.

Admittedly, he felt really good in it. 

He spun in front of the mirror and squinted at his reflection. 

“Stop thinking about him,” he said to his reflection before marching out.

Sam was there, grinning like a cat with a mouse and dangling his phone from his two fingers. Loki frowned, he didn’t remember giving the phone to him.

“What?” Loki asked him, concerned.

“Just look,” Sam said smugly. 

On the screen was a number under the name _Thor Odinson_. Loki felt a surge of anxiety. So much for not thinking about him. He forgot where he was for a second and Sam’s words washed over him for a good several seconds before he came back down to Earth.

“Spin,” Sam was saying slowly and emphatically, motioning with his hand. Loki guessed it wasn’t the first time he’d said it. “Because this is a winner.”

Loki rotated for him obediently.

“Yep, I like it. Keep those and go get something else on,” Sam clapped and leaned back into his seat. “And you’re welcome, by the way. Text him, already.”

“But…” Loki hesitated. “I heard he has a girlfriend. Bucky said—”

“Bucky says a lot of things,” Sam scoffed. “It doesn’t mean they’re true. Besides, he’s always behind on the gossip. Text your man, honey.”

Loki thanked him profusely and clutched his phone to his chest and hurried back to the dressing room. He didn’t really care what happened for the rest of the day now that he had Thor’s number. 

Now he just needed to figure out what to say….

*

Thor felt his phone buzz and kicked it away from him on the couch. Steve was beside him in the middle of a fit of hysterics and struggling to breathe.

“It was not that funny,” Thor said, pummeling him with a pillow. 

“I’m sorry, I just—” Steve surfaced for air with a gasp, tears streaming down his face. “_Grounded._”

He dissolved into a fit of laughter all over again. Thor sank further back into the fluffy couch cushions and glared crossly at the tv where the game was on. His team had scored again but he didn’t feel like celebrating, not while his friend was over here being highly unsympathetic to his cause. 

“Oh my god, I need to meet this Loki guy and congratulate him,” Steve said, regaining his ability to speak in full sentences. He ran his fingers beneath his eyes to wipe away the tears. “I’ve never heard your dad so angry. Do you need an appointment with the ear doctor? I think you might have blown an eardrum listening to that.”

Thor pointedly kept his eyes locked on the tv. “You know what it means.”

Steve sobered up at that. Mostly. “Yeah. Sorry, pal. I’d help out if I could.”

Thor shrugged. Basically, Odin grounding Thor meant a lot of hours at the office shadowing various employees for no reason other than boring him to death. It supposedly looked good that Thor was learning what was involved at every level of the company, but Thor wasn’t sure any of that actually made it to the press so it was essentially a lesson in busywork. That and Odin being his usual power happy self. Thor loved his father, but he could be a little neurotic when it came to the company. 

The micromanagement got old fast.

Not to mention it stung a little extra this time because he was basically grounding Thor for being seen with Loki, which was nothing more than Odin’s social games at play. He couldn’t possibly deign to see his only son and heir out and about with _peasants._ God forbid. 

And the Laufeysons weren’t even poor. They were just poor_er_.

Thor made a face and tossed back the rest of the _Nikka_ in one swallow. His phone buzzed again and he leaned forward and snatched it from the edge of the couch where it was dangerously close to falling off. 

_Text from: Unknown Number_

He sighed and pressed his thumb to the home button to look at it.

_3:48pm_  
_I got a phone!_

_3:55pm_  
_Oh shit, sorry. I guess you might want to know who this is. It’s Loki._

Thor nearly dropped the phone in his surprise. Steve shifted beside him. 

“Who’s that?”

“Nobody,” Thor said too quickly, bringing it up to text back and shoving Steve away so he couldn’t read over his shoulder. His thumbs trembled and his heart was pounding. 

“Oh my god, it’s Loki, isn’t it?”

Thor didn’t respond and stared at the words on the screen. What the hell was he supposed to say to that? How was he supposed to reply and be cool but also not come off sounding like a douchebag? 

_4:20pm_  
_Does this mean you won’t get stuck in strange men’s cars from now on?_

He hit send and hurled the phone away like it had burned him. 

“Wow,” Steve said. 

“Shut up.”

“Wow,” Steve repeated louder. “You have got it bad.”

“Do you hear something? There’s this buzzing sound…” Thor frowned and pretended to look around for the sound. 

Steve ignored him, grinning like the world’s friendliest shark. But shark nonetheless. “You have a massive crush on him. This is great news! What did you say?”

He lunged for the phone. Thor’s hands shot out of their own accord, nearly punching his friend in the face in the process of trying to keep him away from the phone. They both knew each other’s lock codes which was a decidedly terrible decision on Thor’s part. 

Thor managed to get the upper hand and flipped Steve off the couch where he landed with a heavy thud. He snatched his phone from the ground. 

“No!” he said, pointing at him breathlessly. 

Steve was disheveled but positively gleeful. “Oh come on, Thor, when is the last time you actually had a crush on somebody? You deserve this! Tell me about him.”

Thor sighed and let himself flop back onto the couch. 

“God, Steve, help me,” he whined. 

Steve crawled back up onto the couch, settling onto his back, his head next to Thor’s. 

“Well,” he said thoughtfully, blindly reaching up and Thor assumed he was going for a placating pat on the cheek but he missed and hit his nose instead. Thor slapped him away. “The weird thing about me helping you is that I need to know what’s going on in order to help, so _spill, Odinson._”

“Where would I even start,” Thor flapped uselessly. “I don’t even know him.”

“Well, you could start with what you like about him,” Steve pointed out. 

“I don’t even know if I know that much!” Thor said. “He’s just…” he paused and thought about the way Loki’s dark eyelashes fanned out over his delicate cheekbones. “He has a really great laugh, I guess.”

“Really? The laugh? A little cliched, but okay.”

“Do you want me to tell you or not!”

“Sorry, continue.”

Thor fell back into his memories from the morning and smiled a little. “He didn’t have an agenda, he was just so sweet and genuine. You could tell he didn’t care who I was and he even made instant friends with Fenris!” He laughed. “You should have seen him, Steve, he was still in his clothes from last night and he was sprinting through the greenhouse with Fenris without any shoes on.”

Steve whistled low. “Damn, you let him into the greenhouse? On a first date? Well, I never.”

“You are no help,” Thor growled, sitting up abruptly. 

“Hang on, I haven’t had time to process,” Steve said thoughtfully. “I mean, honestly? I’d just go simple. He’s already spent the night at your house, after all. He clearly had a good enough time to text you after the fact. Ask him on a date! Something low key.”

“Mmm, that sounds difficult,” Thor said. “And I might go crazy if he says no. Or what if he leaves me on read?”

Steve laughed. “Dude, you’re already crazy.”

Thor wasn’t about to argue that one. 

Steve frowned at him upside down. “I can’t believe you find true love by accident when I’ve been trying my damndest for months just to get a date. One date!” 

“It’s hardly true love,” Thor raised a brow at him. “And you’re the one who decided to fall in love with the most difficult person on the continent.”

“Tell me about it,” Steve huffed. “He didn’t even say hi to me last night.”

“But somehow he managed to have his tongue down your throat for half the night anyway.”

Steve waved irritably. “That’s beside the point.”

Thor gave a sympathetic chuckle. He couldn’t help but feel for his friend. He wished Bucky would stop stringing him along. It wasn’t that he thought Bucky would be particularly good for Steve, he didn’t know him well enough, but if he didn’t at least give it a chance Thor just knew he would be the one that got away and he’d be hearing about it until long after he went to his grave. 

He flopped back onto the couch and decided then and there they would wallow in mutual lovesick misery until the whiskey was long gone. 

After all, what was misery without your best friend for company?

*

The days passed in a blur.

Thor had texted him back a little slowly at first, but now they barely stopped talking and Loki thought of little else.

He drummed his fingers along the glittery case of Nat’s old phone as he lay on the floor and let his legs wave in the air, listening with half an ear as Bucky chatted on the phone from the kitchen. By now he knew it would be Steve on the other end (it seemed Bucky had finally caved and given him his number). According to Bucky’s rules, you only answer after the fourth call because then you know they’re committed. He said it was a defense mechanism against the hard known fact that all men were garbage and left it at that, but Loki _knew_ he’d answered on the first call, probably after the first ring, too. 

It was about time he cobbled together an intervention, really. Bucky was fooling absolutely nobody with his tough-guy act when everybody within the entire state knew him for what he was: an absolute marshmallow. 

Loki sighed and sat up with an effort. As much as he wanted to stay inside with the air conditioning and talk to Thor all day, he had things to do. Classes would start in a week and he still had to get books and supplies. He made his way to the bathroom, anxiety flaring in the back of his mind. He wasn’t old by any means, but he was a lot older than the average freshman and he hadn’t been in the school system in quite some time (thanks, mom). Twenty three wasn’t too bad, right? 

At the very least, he wasn’t keen to share classes with a bunch of teenagers, but whatever. Maybe it wouldn’t be as uncomfortable as he was making it out to be. He slathered sunscreen on his face and went to his room to pick out clothes. Bucky needed the car this week, so he would be using the bike he’d rented from the extremely friendly but no-nonsense girl at the shop down the street.

It was already disgustingly hot and humid outside, so he didn’t waste time picking out anything exceptionally cute, especially if he was going to be biking in it. 

_Less style, more sunscreen, Laufeyson._

Still, he managed to cobble together a relatively cute athletic outfit, a backpack for shopping, a full water bottle of mostly ice to melt during his ride, and a pair of sunglasses.

A loud buzz from his phone made his heart leap. He snatched it up eagerly. It was a text from Thor, of course, with a picture of the greenhouse looking like the ultimate paradise, not least of which because it was Thor’s.

_Thor_  
_1:34pm_  
_Spent the weekend working in the greenhouse and thought of you!_

Thor thought of him on his weekend. Loki couldn’t help but feel special. He bit his lip as a grin stretched across his face. He typed up a short reply and waffled over it for a moment before hitting send. 

He finished getting ready, pulled his hair up, checked his reflection and then wheeled the rented bike from his room.

“Where are you headed?” Bucky asked, he frowned and covered his phone speaker with his hand. 

“School shopping,” Loki smiled. “Classes start Monday.”

“Right,” Bucky’s eyes flickered over him, weighing his options. “You’re taking your driver’s test this weekend, right? Are you sure you don’t just want to go then? You can take the car and everything.”

Loki shook his head and leaned the bike against his hip so he could scroll through his playlist. Bucky already went out of his way to take him in so he could go to school without his mom breathing down his neck, the least he could do was be independent. 

He stuffed his headphones into his ears and left Bucky to have his eventual phone sex in peace. 

It was still a week day so people weren’t generally out shopping, but it was still more crowded than he would have liked. By the time he got halfway through his list he was irritable, overheated, and sticky with a combination of sweat and humidity. 

Maybe he would have Bucky take him for the rest of his things over the weekend, this was getting ridiculous and his backpack was getting heavy. He bent to dial the code into his bike lock when his phone buzzed in his pocket. 

_Thor_  
_3:15pm_  
_Do you want to get coffee?_

Loki sighed and drew his wrist across his damp forehead. Of course Thor would ask _after_ he was disgusting and sweaty. But of course he was going to say yes. 

He wasn’t crazy. 

_3:16pm_  
_Where were you thinking?_

Thor responded with a shop name and Loki felt his spirits lift despite himself. He stuffed the bike lock into his backpack and pedaled towards the coffee shop.

*

The weather aside, Thor nearly melted when Loki walked through the doors. He had been unbelievable the night of the fundraiser, perfect, surreal even. He was curious to see him looking a little less perfect on a casual weekday, but to his great irritation Loki was positively adorable in a pair of bright green running shorts and a breezy, bright yellow muscle tank. Little strands of hair had escaped their place in the bun he had on top of his head, curling around his face and the base of his neck in the humidity.

He looked flushed and overheated, but he gave Thor a restrained wave when he saw him.

“I’m sorry, I’m a mess,” Loki said as soon as he was within earshot, a little breathless.

“Oh, I don’t know, I kind of like it,” Thor said sincerely, winking at him playfully. “Busy day?”

Loki blushed and nodded, folding up a pair of ancient looking aviators and hanging them precariously from the neck of his shirt. Thor caught a glimpse of smooth, perfect skin along his chest and looked away, clearing his throat. 

“Get whatever you want, it’s my treat.”

“What is this, a date?” Loki asked, arching a delicate eyebrow. 

_Maybe._

“Rather low key for a first date, wouldn’t you say?” he said out loud.

“Oh my god, I’m kidding,” Loki laughed, his eyes sparkling. “I’m actually dying for coffee, how did you know?”

Thor laughed and followed him up to the counter. Loki was almost too cute as he talked with the barista, ordering an americano without room and then standing on tiptoe to point out which pastry he wanted from the display case. God, Thor hadn’t been distracted like this since...well, ever. He nearly jumped out of his skin when the barista asked him for his order. He spluttered out an order that he didn’t remember, paid, and then followed Loki over to pick out a table. 

“What are you doing today?” he asked, hoping he sounded casual as Loki dropped into the seat across from him. 

His heart had a habit of speeding up around Loki, he tried without success, to keep it from beating up into his throat.

“I’m school shopping,” Loki answered him brightly, tucking his legs up onto the seat.

It just so turned out that Loki was a chatty thing. Thor felt himself relax in spite of himself, Loki’s easy manner and enthusiasm were infectious. Not many people could put him at ease so quickly. 

Additionally, Loki seemed completely unhindered by the knowledge that he was _Thor Odinson_, next in line to fill Odin’s formidable, far-reaching shadow. Next to him, Thor felt like he could breathe again. He felt pinned to the spot whenever Loki looked at him, warmth shining from him like he could see nobody else in the room. As a fairly strong authority on being the center of attention, Thor could easily say he preferred Loki’s attention to any of it. 

As he talked, Thor slowly began to entertain the idea of what it might be like to have him in his life more regularly. His stomach twisted a little uncertainly. He’d always been so confident about his relationships, but with Loki he felt like he was handling glass.

“Thor? What are you doing out of the office on a weekday?” 

A long shadow fell across the table. Sif’s voice was dark and sweet like honey. It was maybe the kind of voice he’d entertained being attracted to at one point, but despite Odin’s blatant encouragement, they had always just been friends.

“Sif,” He looked up at her, smiling pleasantly. “Yes, it’s been a slow week.”

She looked beautiful, as always, her long dark hair falling in a sheet of ebony, loose and to her waist. Her expression told him she knew something that she wasn’t letting on.

“Yes, well, that’s never stopped you before,” she said, her eyes glinting as they shifted between him and Loki. A pointed look.

“Sif, this is Loki,” He said quickly. 

“Yes, the third Laufeyson, so I’ve heard,” she said looking at him with the sharp, calculating gaze she had perfected over her years as a CEO. “Pleasure to meet you.”

Thor thought Loki looked like somebody had just kicked him in the face, but he gave Sif a smile and exchanged a couple polite words. 

“I’d better be off, unlike some of us, I have work to do,” She smiled a bit. “It was nice to meet you, Loki, enjoy the city and your independence.” 

Loki gave her a vacant smile and she turned back to Thor, bending to give him a kiss on the cheek. 

“Your dad’s got eyes out today,” she whispered in his ear. “He’s not fond of this one.”

Thor gave her a grateful look and she was gone in a flash of dark hair. He turned back around. 

“Hey,” he frowned. “Are you alright?”

Loki looked like he was a thousand miles away, but he blinked a little and seemed to come to. He seemed to have withdrawn into himself since a couple minutes ago.

“Oh, yeah,” he smiled but it looked forced. “Yeah, I just didn’t realize the time. I should probably get going.”

He began to gather his things and Thor felt his pulse speed up. Had he said something wrong? 

“Do you need a ride back? I’m happy to take you.”

“No, no, it’s okay, I have to return my bike.”

“I can take you—”

“No!” Loki snapped. 

Thor felt his mouth close quickly, caught off guard by the edge in Loki’s voice. 

“No, it’s okay,” Loki said, softening. “I like being outside and I have a couple more errands to run.”

Something about the way he said it made Thor let him go and he stood there on the steps to the shop long after the wheel’s on Loki’s bike ticked and carried him away down the street.

*

The girl at the bike shop took one look at him and seemed to realize he was having a bad day. She spoke very kindly and gave him a handful of stickers before he left. Loki appreciated it, truly, he did. He clutched the stickers in his hand as he walked the last couple blocks back to the house, tears blurring his eyes.

He’d seen it coming. He had known since day one that Thor was in a relationship, so why then did seeing him with Sif hurt so much? 

It felt like somebody punched a hole in his chest.

The house was empty when he got back, which was just as well. Honestly, if he walked into the house like this after seeing Thor, it would send Bucky into a murderous rage. He put the stickers down on his desk and took his hair down and stared at himself in the little mirror there. 

Why the fuck would somebody like Thor be interested in somebody like him? 

He’d been so stupid. Of _course_ Thor was nice to him; Thor was nice to everybody, he’d been raised in the same social culture as his brothers, Helblindi and Byleistr. 

The sheets were cool when he fell into his bed and curled up in them, too upset to change out of his sweaty clothes. He heard the door open and shut as Bucky came home. 

“Loki? Are you home?”

He didn’t respond and buried his face in his pillow instead. What he expected was Bucky to panic, see him in his room, and then demand to know what had happened. What he didn’t expect was to feel the mattress sink and a warm hand on his shoulder. 

“What happened?” Bucky asked. 

Loki felt tears spring to his eyes again and he couldn’t bring himself to say the words. Bucky understood in an instant.

“Oh, babe, oh no. Come here,” Bucky tugged him upright and into a hug, soothing him. “You go ahead and cry, it’s alright. I’m so sorry.”

Loki sobbed into his friend like his heart might break.

*

“Steven Grant Rogers, so help me god, I will throw you in the pool again!”

“No!” Steve gave him a scandalized look. “Like this? You’ll ruin my outfit.”

Steve was, in fact, sitting poolside in a pair of obnoxiously bright swim trunks, paging through GQ and commenting loudly over the stupidity of the fashion. Thor growled and got a cheeky grin in response. He stalked over to his friend and tugged the magazine out of his hands. 

“Hey—” 

“What do I need to do?” he demanded. “He won’t answer my texts, he doesn’t answer calls—”

“Wow, that sucks,” Steve said, looking at him over the top of his sunglasses. “I wonder what that must be like.”

“Shut up,” he complained and sat down with a thump. 

To be fair, Steve had been patiently listening to him freak out for the better part of the day. He was well within his rights to be snippy. Still, Thor couldn’t stop himself from being that annoying friend right now. 

Conversation had been nonstop with Loki since they first started texting and then, after the coffee shop yesterday, he had gotten a couple one-word responses and not much else. 

“I can’t imagine what happened,” he said. “Did I say something? Do something wrong?” 

He flapped his arms helplessly and Steve rolled his eyes. It was all good and well for him, though, Thor thought irritably, at least Bucky had been that way from the beginning. Fortunately, Steve was a decent kind of person and a good friend which meant he only gave so much shit before taking things seriously. He adjusted his ridiculous American flag shorts and sat forward, looking Thor in the eye from behind expensive, blue-tinted sunglasses.

“You are a disaster,” Steve said. “Go on, walk me through it again.”

Thor gave him a look but walked him through it for the third time that afternoon. 

“—And then Sif said hi—”

“Wait, stop,” Steve waved to stop him. “Sif?”

“Yeah,” Thor said irritably. “She said hi. What about it?”

Steve frowned at him exasperatedly and swatted him upside the head with another magazine that he procured out of nowhere. 

“You idiot,” he chastised. “Of course he’s going to ghost you after seeing you with Sif. You think he doesn’t hear the gossip?”

“_I_ don’t hear the gossip,” Thor said indignantly. 

Steve rolled his eyes. “Sif is your tabloid wife, dummy. He probably thinks you’re in a relationship with her!”

Thor stared at him for a moment and then burst out laughing. It was absolutely ridiculous. There was no way Loki could believe he was in a relationship with Sif. Steve waited patiently for his laughter to subside before smacking him with the magazine again. 

“Ow, hey!” Thor rubbed his head, wounded. 

“If you want him you’re going to have to explain things to him,” Steve told him flatly. 

“Ugh, but that’s so stupid, I’m obviously not in a relationship. Why else would I text him constantly?”

“A, it’s not obvious,” Steve held up a hand and ticked things off on his fingers. “And B, people are shitty and unfaithful all the time. You gotta explain things.” 

Thor groaned dramatically. Steve was right, of course. He shoved him for good measure and walked away, Steve’s cheeky comment (“Love you!”) following him into the house. It was the first day of classes and he knew just enough about Loki to know where he might be in all the chaos.

*

The motorcycle had been a good choice. The tires squealed as he took a sharp turn into the parking lot on the edge of campus and wove through throngs of students making their way to class. God, he said goodbye to this place the day he jumped off the graduation podium and had sworn to never return and yet here he was on purpose.

He thought of Loki and his sweet face and gritted his teeth. He was going to fix this.

The lot was packed. Thor impatiently swung into a very illegal space that was marked off by stripes of yellow paint and vaulted from the bike, his fingers already undoing the clasp of his helmet. 

Art. Loki had definitely talked about art classes. 

“Hey,” he flung an arm out and caught a passing student in the chest. “Fine arts building. Where is it?”

It may have been a little more aggressive than he’d meant it to be but the guy just looked at him like he was crazy. 

“Take it easy, man, you wanna cross the quad and take a left. Big building with copper siding.”

Thor thanked the kid and took off across the grounds, each step more sure than the last. He hadn’t been sure if Loki was into him, but if he didn’t find out in the next couple minutes he was going to die. He missed their conversations. He missed Loki’s sharp wit and teasing. Thor had never been very romantic, but goddammit he was about to buy as many roses as he could get his hands on and do his damndest to sweep Loki off his feet. 

Too bad he was a mess and hadn’t thought to do that first. 

A dramatic moment on the first day of school would have to do. 

He reached the fine arts building, his lungs screaming at him to stop. He stumbled to a stop beneath the shade of a tree and caught his palms against his knees, breathing hard. Students milled around him in various states of hurry. How the hell was he supposed to find Loki in all of this? 

But he shouldn’t have worried, he recognized him instantly, pushing his way out of the doors to the building. Thor’s heart went to his throat and for a moment he froze. What if he misunderstood the entire situation? What if Loki wasn’t actually interested in him, but the opposite? What if—?

“Loki!” He shouted before his brain had a chance to stop him. 

Stupid, really. How the fuck was Loki supposed to hear him from that far away? People didn’t seem to give three shits about the urgency of his mission as he wove through them, trying to keep the prettily braided mess of dark hair in sight. It looked like Loki had gone out of his way to look cute on the first day of school and it made Thor’s chest twist painfully. _You’re fucked, Odinson. Completely fucked._

“Loki!” he repeated breathlessly as he caught up with him. 

Loki turned delicately and his face worked through about twelve different emotions before settling on lightly confused. Thor couldn’t help but notice the way he seemed to shift his posture defensively, as if preparing for the worst. He wanted to cry. 

“Thor?” Loki’s perfect brows knitted together. “What are you doing here?”

“I—” Thor choked. “I came to see you. I haven’t heard from you in two days, you won’t respond to my calls or texts,” somebody bumped into him and there were a couple of snickers from passers by, but he ignored them. “And look, I realize that me surprising you at school is wildly inappropriate and kind of creepy, but I just—” He flailed a little bit. 

Of course he would lose his ability to be eloquent when it mattered most. Loki was still guarded, but there was a glint of amusement in his eyes as he turned and kept walking. Thor took his quirked lips to be as good an invitation as he was going to get and hurried to keep up with him. 

“Is this about the other day? I swear, Sif—”

Loki’s face went carefully blank. “I’ve just been busy. I’m sorry.”

Thor reached out to stop him. It was a big mistake. Loki flinched away like he’d thrown a punch, a pained look flashing across his features.

“Sorry! I’m sorry.”

Thor held his hands up quickly, palms out in surrender. He was really fucking it up today, wasn’t he? First acting insane and being a complete stalker, and second practically assaulting him. Hardly his finest moment. 

Loki stood there frozen, wide-eyed and clutching a binder to his chest. He looked even smaller than usual, drowning in an oversized pink sweatshirt that bunched up at his wrists and hung off his shoulders. His ankles disappeared into a pair of Doc Martens that looked like they anchored him to the earth and kept him from flying away.

Thor softened, a pang hitting him somewhere in the heart area. He had been so stressed about explaining himself that he hadn’t stopped to consider how it might look to Loki: a massive blonde idiot, literally sprinting towards him after Loki had done everything but stamp “do not disturb” on his forehead. 

His shoulders slumped in defeat. 

“I’m sorry, this was a bad idea,” he said. “I’m just...I’ll just go.”

He turned away and felt his heart sink down to somewhere near his shoes. The truth was, he hadn’t come here with a plan and he had underestimated the fact that being around Loki rendered him stupid and speechless. 

“Thor, wait,” Loki called. “What did you come here to say to me?”

Thor stopped and turned back to him. “I thought maybe you weren’t talking to me because you thought I was in a relationship.”

Loki watched him stonily, gripping the cuff of his sweatshirt with his black fingernails, his hair fluttering delicately in the mild breeze. Something about it made Thor’s knees weak.

“I just wanted to let you know that I’m not,” he finished lamely. At least now he knew how he was going to die: in disgrace beneath the crushing weight of his embarrassment.

“Why would that be so important for me to know?” Loki asked slowly, his face carefully blank.

A tiny laugh escaped Thor’s throat, a little too high and forced to be considered natural. 

“Because I like you,” he said helplessly. “Because the last two days have been hell without you, and I know that sounds stupid because we only just met, but I hate the thought of my life without you in it— ” 

He meant to stop there, he really did, but the words just kept coming.

“I can’t stop thinking about you, hell, I couldn’t sleep the last two days knowing something was wrong,” he shook his head. “Loki, you make me feel like I can finally breathe in this godforsaken city and I just...I want to be with you. I figured you should know.”

And there it was. The most vulnerable and open he’d ever been in his entire life, standing there in the blinding sunlight on the campus sidewalk, completely at the mercy of a little green-eyed, dark-haired boy with a quick smile and elfin braids in his hair. 

He didn’t notice Loki walk up until he was standing right in front of him. 

“Eleven out of ten,” Loki said bluntly.

Thor blinked. “What?”

“On a scale of all the dramatic confessions I’ve had in my life, that was an eleven out of ten,” Loki explained, tilting his head to one side and smiling a bit and by _god_ he was going to be the death of him. “Well? Ask me out already, you idiot, I’m sure I’ll say yes.”

Thor’s heart beat furiously. “Loki, would you—”

“Oh my god, duh,” Loki rose onto his tiptoes and kissed him.

At first Thor froze, his mind working overtime to process everything that was happening. Loki smelled like linen and fresh-cut peonies and he tasted like bubblegum. Thor kissed him back. _Gods_, he was kissing him back, pulling him close and reveling in the feel of him beneath his fingers, threading a hand up between them to cup the back of his neck. 

When they broke apart, Loki giggled a little and dropped his forehead against Thor’s chest. Thor wrapped his arms around him, feeling his chest swell with affection. Whatever had been weighing on him the past few days lifted from his shoulders. 

“So, where do you want to go for our first date?” 

Loki’s giant eyes sparkled up at him, emerald and beautiful. “Surprise me, genius.”

Thor laughed and his heart sang. He couldn’t help it. He caught Loki’s chin with his fingers and tilted his head up and kissed him again.

*

_thor, loki, and fenris in the greehouse; art by: odetteandodile_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _INCREDIBLE_ art work by [@odetteandodile](https://twitter.com/odetteandodile) who inspired a lot of plant love and could not have done a more perfect job!


	2. Epilogue

_and i confessed, confessed to you_   
_riding shotgun underneath the purple skies_   
_and we danced, we danced_   
_with windows down, and we danced, we danced_   
_[favorite record, fall out boy]_

~*~

Thor did take him on a real first date. And then a second, and a third, and then without so much as a blink, he was meeting parents and attending social events with a surprising amount of regularity.

Sam was frowning at him from the couch. “No, honey, that’s not gonna work.”

“You think?”

Loki frowned and ran his hands along the red velvet of the piece Natasha had suggested for him. It was a little avante garde, but then again so was Natasha. And he didn’t think it looked _that_ bad, maybe a little accessorizing and he could—

“He’s right, I hate it,” Nat said bluntly. “Take it off.”

Loki sighed and slipped the straps off his shoulders, shimmying out of the heavy fabric as Nat swiped through yet another one of her numerous garment stands. He was grateful when Bucky walked up and pressed a drink into his hand with a pointed look. He managed to take a big sip before Natasha accosted him with another outfit. The alcohol in it burned his throat and he coughed. 

Bucky snorted into his own cup, devious eyes narrowing over the rim of it at him.

“Nice. What are you doing, by the way? You should be getting ready,” Loki said, sniffing and setting the glass down with a clink. “You’re coming tonight. I told Steve you would be there.”

“Yeah, I dunno about that,” Bucky said, being purposefully obtuse and examining his fingernails. 

Loki rolled his eyes. Bucky had been sulking about all day, being difficult and grouchy at every opportunity. They were leaving in an hour and he was still not ready, stubbornly wearing a pair of lounge shorts and an oversized shirt that Loki was certain used to be Steve’s. His chestnut hair was still in a purposefully disastrous knot at the back of his head.

“Oh no, tonight is not the night you get to play hard-to-get,” Loki said flatly. “This is for Thor and we’re going as moral support. You know Steve can’t put two words together unless you’re there so _get. Dressed._”

Bucky sighed dramatically. “Fine.”

“Plus I need a ride,” Loki said lightly, calling after him as he trudged past towards his bedroom. “I love you!”

A muffled grunt was all the response he got. He grinned.

*

Despite the fact that Loki had helped Thor prep for the party, he still gasped when they pulled up to the house. Lights danced along every possible surface, lining freshly painted trim and twinkling through every branch of the trees that dotted the extensive grounds. It made up for all the craziness leading up to it, in Loki’s opinion. It looked like a Christmas card in August.

Thor was distracted and stressed out when they walked up, but he spared a moment to sweep Loki into a kiss, careful to avoid running his fingers through the magic Sam had woven into his softly curled hair. Bucky made a beeline over to where Steve stood, his broad shoulders backlit by the expertly dim lighting of the bar. Despite his big talk, Loki saw his friend beginning to soften towards Steve and frankly, if they didn’t end up official by the end of the night he was going to start screaming. 

Something about the soft look on Bucky’s face told him he wouldn’t have to ruin his vocal cords tonight. Loki smiled. Steve was good for him.

It was a big night for Thor, a chance for all the annual donors to see what they were getting into in the coming years as he stepped up to the plate and prepared for his father’s inevitable retirement. At this point, Loki was accustomed to these parties and fell quickly into the role of moral support and socialite. 

It was almost midnight by the time everything began to wind down. 

Thor had disappeared a little bit ago, but Loki knew where he would be. Fenris was asleep beneath one of the stands when he walked into the greenhouse. Even though nobody was allowed inside, Thor had requested the greenhouse be outfitted in a similar manner as the rest of the house. Loki paused as he closed the door behind him to keep the humidity in, taking in the sight of softly gleaming lights and lanterns that seemed to float beneath the glass ceilings. 

It was magical. 

“How did I know you’d find me,” Thor chuckled, his towering silhouette just barely visible against the deep purple sky behind him. 

Loki’s heart twisted at the sound of his voice. He loved him so much. 

Thor was standing in the doorway that led out to a small balcony, one where they spent many evenings together, talking the days away. Warmth bloomed in Loki’s chest. They’d been together almost half a year at this point and still every day felt like the first day. 

“You’re very predictable,” Loki told him softly, going to him and taking his hands, threading their fingers together. “I think tonight went really well. The donors seem confident in you.”

“They do, don’t they,” Thor looked down at him, his expression far away but infinitely tender. “I missed you. Did I already tell you you look beautiful tonight?”

Loki frowned. “I’ve been here all night. Are you okay?”

Thor hummed and bent to kiss him, once on the forehead, each cheek, and finally capturing his lips and lingering there. Loki leaned into it, responding with light pressure and allowing Thor to disentangle himself and wrap his arms around him. 

Loki was certain he saw stars when they parted, but he wasn’t sure if it was the lights behind them or Thor’s effect on him. 

“Do you know how much I love you?” Thor whispered, pressing his forehead against him. “I love you so much I can’t breathe.”

“I think you’re getting extraordinarily sappy,” Loki said back, closing his eyes and touching his nose to Thor’s. “How much have you had to drink?”

“Nothing tonight,” Thor chuckled deep in his chest and it resonated in Loki’s ears. “I needed to be sober for this.”

Loki opened his eyes, frowning. “For what?”

But Thor was already in motion, dropping down on one knee and procuring a small box. 

“Oh god, what are you doing?” Loki brought his hands up to cover his mouth, his heart speeding up until he thought he might pass out. “Thor—”

“I love you with my entire heart,” Thor said softly, his eyes shining in the darkness. “I know we haven’t even dated for a year, but I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life—”

Loki pressed his palms against his mouth, fat tears forming in his eyes. 

“Will you marry me?” 

It was as if the whole world stilled for them. The stars stopped their twinkling in the sky, and the air stopped around them, waiting with bated breath. 

Thor looked at him with the kind of devotion only fools dream of having from another. He also looked a little concerned as he kneeled there and Loki realized he’d left him there for quite some time now. 

“Loki?” Thor asked uncertainly.

“Yes,” Loki choked out, reaching for him. “Oh my god, yes.”

The ring was beautiful and simple. Silver, a set of leaves intertwined. It fit perfectly. 

“I love you,” he whispered. 

All around them were lights and color and flowers bursting forth in plumes of all colors, surrounding them in the purest, most intimate of settings. Loki felt his tears begin to fall and Thor brushed a few strands of hair aside, caressing his face in the gentle warmth of his fingers.

“I love you, too,” Thor said.

Loki threw his arms around Thor’s neck and kissed him.

_fin ~_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this I also write other things. I also scream a lot on [twitter](https://twitter.com/saltierbitch).


End file.
